I’ve got a 2020 Yamaha wr250f and I’ve been riding it for a little while now, it’s got a hydraulic clutch and I’ve found that the pro of it being lighter to pull outweighs the cons of maintenance and cost, especially when I’m riding it for longer periods of time off-road. Anyways, love your videos man, they’re bloody awesome, keep at it!

I've used both and honestly the only real difference is that hydraulic is easier to pull the lever, as you mentioned in the video. One other con about the cable clutch, is on some bikes, depending how they are routed, they are effected by heat. For example, one of my bikes is a Yamaha XT dual sport which uses a cable clutch and the cable is routed very close to the header and engine. When the bike gets hot the cable expands, which causes more play in the lever. It does not effect function, but it is noticeable.

Euro designers: make something unnecessary, make it expensive to maintain, markup the price of the motorcycle by an extra grand

Anyone that shifts very often or rides a long time will likely agree that hydraulic is better, simply because your hand gets tired of pulling. But the difference is not so big that I'd go through the trouble of installing a conversion kit.

Although the pull is a bit on the harder side on my SV with a cable, I do like the 'feel'. It's only a little tiresome in stop and go traffic. Thanks for the informative video.😊

Something VERY important is the small mechanical system connecting the lever or the receiver cylinder to the actual clutch plates. The fact that the hand movements are transmitted by a cable or a liquid doesn't really matter that much. If the cable lever arrangement allow for an easy cam setup, the hidrolic receiver cylinder has usually a very short stroke and is giving a linear effect. Only very specific springs can provide a non linear effect... and it is very difficult to tweak indeed...

I used to think I wouldn't need a hydraulic clutch but after having nerve problems with my hands I am considering it.

My CBR1000RR came with an hydraulic clutch and I never had to rebuild master or slave cyclinders on it. And I have 102,000 kms on the bike. I do however change the fluid every two seasons in the system. If you do need to perform work on the system, it might be more expensive, although re-routing a cable from a cable clutch from the handle to the cover can sometimes be a real bitch depending on the bike. Oddly enough, the second bike I have ever owned was hydraulic clutch as well, a 1984 HONDA V30 Magna 500cc. I really like the fact that they self adjust, that way, you know the adjustment is always spot on, no guessing. But, my smaller bikes have cable clutches and there is nothing wrong with those. I do not notice more “feel” from a cable clutch though. Like you said, number one reason manufacturers use cables is for cost savings.

I prefer the feel of the cable clutch, but I like the hydraulic clutch more because of the maintenance

A hydraulic clutch over a cable tends to be a lot smoother and a lot easier but with that being said on an older bike where you need a little feel with that clutch that cannot always be a good thing. I put a hydraulic clutch on my older sportbike with a race clutch. It was a lot easier and a lot smoother but tended to be a little bit snatchy because I was losing that feel in the lever if you know what I mean

Only tried a hydraulic clutch for a short ride and it felt really smooth and nice to pull. But you do lose some feel for the clutch pull. The thing with cable clutch is, that it feels nice when new and fresh, but with use it quickly becomes sticky and worn feeling. You only tend to notice that when you fit a new cable and sleeve. I think that on most new bikes with clutch cable you are not actually supposed to lube it anymore, because of a teflon coating inside. Anyway, If I could choose one on a new bike I think I would go for a hydraulic clutch, provided it's from a reliable brand...

I have multiple bikes with a mix of cable/hydraulic clutches among them. I do prefer the hydraulic type because it is easier to pull and (despite the comment on this) is easier to maintain. I have suffered the dreaded broken clutch cable while out on a ride more than once, but never had a hydraulic clutch failure. Lack of regular maintenance affects BOTH types of clutches. Cable clutches are hard to lubricate properly and typically break right at the solid drum end in the pull lever. Careful attention and lubrication to both the cable and the lever mechanism is required. For the hydraulic clutch, lubrication of the lever mechanism is still required, but seems to be less of a concern. The other hydraulic maintenance item is the clutch (brake) fluid itself. I've been wrenching on motorcycles for over 50 yrs and find this one item is the most overlooked task. Because brake fluid is hygroscopic (absorbs moisture) it will require regular flushing. If your fluid looks like tea, it's definitely time to change it! Clutch/brake bleeding is a straight forward process and should be learned if you want to maintain your bike. My 1999 Honda Valkyrie Interstate (140K+ miles) has a hydraulic clutch and other than regular flushing (about every 2 to 3 years), has required no other servicing. Ride safe all!

Short and sweet! a great video as always.... I am running a hydraulic clutch on my '06 Bandit 1200

Always cable clutch. I’ve had hydraulic, and once it starts failing it’s a nightmare. Will never go right again

I have a love-hate relationship with cable cultch. My dad used to have a cb400, one day as I was talking it out for maintenance ride around the neighborhood, when I was clutch in to change gear the cable decided to snap. Back then I didn't know cultchless shift is possible so i panicky pull the front brake and immediately low side the bike, it was bad.

I've had problems with some clutches with my small weak hands... but I recently used a hydraulic clutch bike and really like it, it just seems easier for me to use.

Cant get rid of it so make another video with it :D

I like both! But when the hydraulic clutch starts to leak that's when it becomes a complete nightmare

Im sad you only make short videos, but they are very good!

Cable clutch maintenance requires you to remove all the line out and take apart your body kits in order to work on it and lube it once every few months or adjusting it as the line starting to sag. While hydro clutch is much easier to repair in my opinion and experience, all I gotta do is take 2 screws off and pour and pump the fluid and check the line once every few months to ensure it is in good shape with no cracks, which usually never the case since my hydro clutch line has always been on my motorcycle for years and never had the need to replace it because it is still in good shape with no cracks or buldge, I never had to worry about lubricating it either besides grease up the lever once in awhile which is fairly easy to do and is self adjusting. Overall hydro clutch is so much superior than cable, I don’t see the reason why anyone would say it is not as good as cable clutch in terms of reliability. The only time you need to take apart the whole hydro system is when there is a seal failure or leaking or cracking tube which is rarely been the case for me in many years since every tube and seal is tuck in beneath the body kit and rarely exposed to direct sunlight,

Feeling is a weird one... Because I could argue that in Hard Enduro for example, cable clutches just don't exist. And that's a sport where clutch feel is incredibly important, arguably more so than any street application or even motocross. It's one of those things that is basically impossible to be objective about :)

One of the major benefits to a hydraulic brake vs a traditional cable is that if your cable snags on a70's bike it can lock up your front brakes and send you over the bars, with hydraulic brakes, this can't happen. it will fail before it snags in a way to do this. There is still issues with durability as it will fail long before a cable wears out. It can also add time to fast repairs as a cable can be swapped in seconds but bleeding brakes to gain pressure back takes minutes.

I own a 2023 Ducati Monster (hydraulic) and a 2022 Triumph Bonneville (cable) Fine control of clutch on a motorcycle is one of those ESSENTIAL skills and it is more difficult on the hydraulic clutch due to a lack of feeling the friction zone. The cable clutch with slipper assist on the Triumph is WAY superior to the Ducati, particularly for round-town riding!

What's up bro been really enjoying your videos these past months❤

Nice, I was just thinking if I should change mine

on a long adventure ride, fixing a snapped clutch cable by carying a spare (some ppl already have it routed and zip tied to the "active" one) is much easier than fixing a leaking hydraulic one.

Don't remember ever breaking a clutch cable ever (in almost 40 years riding). I do remember one friend breaking a cable on a ride out, but his maintenance was atrocious). That said, when I was a teen, the owner at my local bike repair shop recommended _never lubing any cable_ as the lube that was already in there was cable specific and more than sufficient, and any posterior lubing would basically "wash away the _good stuff"._ This is especially true of WD-40, or similar products. _Never_ put WD-40 near _any_ cable, ever! (Unless its their dry, PTFE, lube) If the cable started playing up, got tight, or whatever, then just replace. After all, they aren't that expensive. I have three bikes, two with cable clutches and one with hydraulic. They are different, but I think it's more down to clutch size and spring strength, rather than if hydraulic is better/easier than cable.

I agree, I always felt like I could 'feel' things more with a cable vs hydraulic. My 03 FZ1 is cable and I love it!

I've only rode bikes with cable clutches and I like their simplicity. Adding a couple ferruls to my daily carry toolbox means I can fix just about any issue with my clutch on the side of the road. I'm sure the feel of a hydraulic clutch will ruin me someday, but I'll only one a motorcycle with one when I know I can afford to maintain it, on a track bike, for instance.

Bought a VFR800, my first bike with a hydraulic clutch and was absolutely shocked... at how it really didn't feel any different Just makes it feel ever so slightly different when you take off from a stop, maybe a bit smoother feeling. You immediately tune it out and forget it's different at all. It isn't something you have to learn to use differently and you will be glad that the clutch pull is a little bit lighter meaning less fatigue and slightly easier fine adjustments at very slow speed

It's funny how just yesterday I did a small presentation about clutches, and then going into the new eClutch from Honda. And this video pops up in my feed today.

The friction zone(fz) location is the always the same on a hydraulic clutch. The fz location can be moved with the adjustments of a cable clutch. The fz of a hydraulic clutch can, but not as drastically, with adjustable levers. I've ridden both, extensively in slow speed trainings and operational situations. I'll take the consistency of the hydraulic clutch any day

Trials bikes have all been hydraulic clutches for years now. Cables worked well but hydraulic is more consistent and reliable.

imo it all depends on the application. on a mile munching sports tourer a self adjusting clutch is pretty nice! on a cheapo weekend warrior naked bike i'd however prefer a cable one 😅 that said my current bike is a '94 FJ1200 using hydraulics 😁

On street bikes, I don't really care, either works fine, but for offroad riding, it makes all the difference! Certainly prefer hydraulic clutches on my dirt bikes. Also, quickshifters are nice, but as I've learned, using them all the time destroys a transmission in no time. Mine is done after just 10k km of mostly using the KTM's somewhat clunky quickshifter. Back to clutching it is.

I have a hydraulic clutch on my Aprilia RSV, its nicer to be able to fine tune the clutch a bit with different slave cylinders etc. I'd also say the force required is more linear. But you really don't notice while riding.

I've got a 1988 Vf750c hydraulic clutch and a Gsx1400 hydraulic clutch. Had many bikes since the 1970,s and prefere hydraulic. To get more feel just pop braided steel hoses on and 6 way adjustable clutch lever. Sorted. And they don't snap .

I noticed recently my Goldwing had a hydraulic clutch - I hadn't even realised! So I guess I didn't notice any difference in response. In fact with bigger bikes at slow speeds you often control the speed with clutch actuation instead and it is very good for that. So I am still unsure which is "better". I suppose it's one less cable to lubricate and replace but it's also one more system to change the fluids on.

Before you know it, motorcycle manufacturers are going to install "clutch by wire" systems. Hey, my fancy new motorbike has a quick clutcher, it auto clutches up and down.

only pros of hydraulic clutch I see is self adjustment. In cable clutch, free play will change when clutch is hot, and sometimes you may have to adjust it while racing. So many race bike or race bike wannabe have hydraulic clutch.

In my 60.000km Suzuki GSX-R150, I've replaced the cable clutch three times. I have tried hydraulic conversion, and I can assure you that it is NOT WORTH THE TROUBLE! primarily because it is dirty, time-consuming (it took me 3 hours and I came to a dead end because my clutch lever does not fit the push rod), and has an additional failure point (instead of a cable that can snap, now you have to worry about 2 worn out seals and worn out push rod). What is the secret to a durable clutch cable? First, never lube it because, as I can assure you, doing so will only attract dirt and debris, increase friction, and cause the component to wear out even more (I once tried to clean and lube my clutch cable because many people online advised me to do so, but it did no good because I wasted my hard-earned money on a can of garbage I don't need and my valuable time cleaning the mess I shouldn't have made). Second, avoid holding the clutch lever for an extended period of time. Instead, put the gear in neutral if you're in heavy traffic, avoid releasing the clutch slowly while the engine is running at high revs, Simply let go of the clutch-not too slowly, nor too quickly-and let your engine to rev to its maximum capacity on its own. Third, save money to purchase a quickshifter for your motorcycle or attempt to learn clutchless shifting (practice makes perfect). This is not only a great skill to learn now, but it will come in handy if you or a friend has a lowside and breaks the clutch handle (one of my friend got into a lowside, he got nothing but a small bruise and his clutch handle broken into pieces, he cannot drove his bike to his home so I did it without the clutch for about 54km to his home, we arrived safely). Do what you want, but in my opinion, converting to a hydraulic clutch is a waste of time and money.

Its probably so its easier to pull in the clutch with hydraulic and it also depends on the clutch weight and springs and however makes up a clutch of a motorcycle engine.

I've owned a lot of different brands of bikes since #1 in 1966 and none of them ever had hydraulic clutches. Seems I missed out. My current bikes, Triumph and Huskvarna are both cable, although there is a hydraulic conversion kit for the Husky. However, both have quick shifters and I can't see any reason to change away from what's on the bike. I once had a cable break on my Indian Springfield. I'd been out touring for a week and the day after I got home I was riding to the bike shop when it snapped. The bike had about 50,000 kms on it. The shop sent their trailer for me and replaced the cable under warranty. Lucky it didn't break when I was out in the middle of nowhere.

The main difference would be that the clutchsprings in a high horsepower bike are pretty stiff and you wouldn't be able to pull in the clutch many times with a cable. Just think about any older Ducati and you will get why some bikes need the hydraulics

2001 VFR 800, it's hydraulic and when I got it I hated it basically, the friction point was so far away from the grip it felt like it was in a different postcode. Changed levers and it's a different story, my love live is no longer affected after a long ride with lots of changes, so us fancy Europeans are finally catching up with the fancy Japanese of 20 years ago! But in all seriousness, when I got the bike I disliked it so much simply because of the clutch, it's not exactly as adjustable as a cable one (which you can adjust at both ends!) and from what I gather the point between "pulled" and "fully pulled" on hydraulic is a small range whilst on a cable is (again) adjustable. Basically hydraulics can't be adjusted much.

My 1987 Honda Hurricane 1000 has a hydraulic clutch, and so does my 2004 cbr1000rr. I had a !984 Honda interceptor with a hydraulic clutch also. Not quite so new. I do prefer a hydraulic clutch though.

i had a husqvarna wr125 with cable clutch and i switched to a hydraulic clutc, while it was lighter to pull on enduro rides etc it didnt give as much feedback als the cable clutch for hops and double blibs for obstacles and the cable clutch wasnt even that heavy. you could easily pull it with 1 finger both since enduro clutch levers are smaller and more comfortable than the ones on streetbikes. i regret i did the hydraulic but i know now for the future that you just leave the clutch actuator setup stock. (unless you upgrade to arekluse auto clutch or something but that doesnt change the actuators)

I've got a tuned 50cc 2t with an 88cc cylinder and reinforced clutch springs. Let me tell you, you'd love a hydraulic clutch when trying to clutch drive in 10kph

EXCELLENT SIR YOUNG MAN ..MASTER OF TECHNOLOGY..APPRECIATED

persionally i like hydralic clutch as of now. I'm euro boy with only an AM license rn so I got my 50cc moped with cable and my husky TC85 with hydraulic. i fell with the hydraulic it starts engaging the clutch over a wider area on the lever and gives you more control over it. can't really fell anything with my moped cause it has so low power.

Ive owned 4 bikes, 2 with cable and 2 with clutch. All I know is Ive never been on a hydraulic clutch at a stop light and had had it let me down

my 2008 bandit has hidraulic clutch, and i feel like any one who has not driven a manual car/driven hidraulic clutch on a moto(for enough time) prefers cable, i feel like hidraulic is more smooth and is what you need

I recently got a bike with a hydraulic clutch. It has by far the heaviest clutch pull of any bike I have ever ridden. Apparently not uncommon for bike either 😂 . CaGiVa Grand Canyon 900ie from 2001.

Had hydraulic clutch on my Suzuki intruder vs800 from 1992 :D Actually, pretty pleasant experience.

Perfect summary!

I prefer cable over hydrolic. Due to the adjust-ability to do what feels good to you.

Having both an MT-09 and a KTM 350 EXC-F, I have to agree with what you said. I much prefer the cable feel and I'm pretty sure I have better clutch control with cable. (Maybe the different type of riding on both bikes is biasing my opinion. Maybe the MT-09 is a super good implemention of a cable clutch and the KTM a poor implementation of an hydraulic clutch, I dunno) Cheers from Portugal

no i have ridden a lot of hydraulic clutches and cable and if a cable is done wel its good i even like the free play better then on hydraulic and the break fluid it gets bad on ducatie they get hot so you have to change it a lot

One more thing to go wrong while going on adventure rides out in the middle of nowhere

the key is to always engage the clutch already in second gear

Cable clutch all the way for me. I saw a rider with a broken cable. He was able to re route what remained of the cable and was able to ride it home just by pulling on the cable.

Hydraulic feels nice. I just spent $400 to get my magura to work on an older Husqvarna.

I can rig a snapped cable, but blown hydraulics? Time to call a buddy

Hydraulic clutch is very important for bikes, it's recover from fingers pain from normal clutch lever, it's great invention, thanks lot, please do same hydraulic clutch for four wheeler also, then We will recover from knee pain while pumping the normal clutch.

Good timing on this video, the clutch cable on my 2017 MT09 snapped only a few days ago on my morning commute (with only 18k kms on the clock) so theres an example of a very obvious con to the cable system. In saying that I've also had a seal let go on the slave cylinder on a hydraulic setup on an xjr1300 with the same result, so i suppose both systems are susceptible to failure...

The Force your fingers needs to pull the lever has NOTHING to do with cable/hydraulic. It is only determend by the springs in the system and the ratio at which the force is transfered from the Lever to the clutch. (For example hyraulic clutches on Harley Davidsan are hard as f**k to pull, and cable clutches and 125 smale bikes are usually way lighter. And there are vise versa examples. I personally like the feeling of a cable clutch mutch more over any of the fancy gydraulic clutches. (Maintance and Cost aside) It just feels more connected and the biting point of the clutch is easier to find. On all hydraulic clutches i've tried so far it felt like, yes I can feel the bike starting to move and it get's a bit louder but no real feeling for the engaging of the clutch in the lever. I'm happy that Yamaha keeps the clutch cable actuated even on there top shelf MT-10.

AS An ADV rider in Appalachia america I can tell hydraulic is much preferred I have a quick shifter on my bike and cable lines seize due to grit and if they do snap it’s definitely a no go

hydraulic all the way :) It might not matter that much on a street bike , but when doing enduro or motocross riding it's a whole different world. You can ride all day long with a hydraulic clutch using only 1 finger and not get tired , while i felt like my fingers would fall off after a longer ride with cable clutch

Owned both. Cables are better in the long term.

If you live in a crowded place where you have to consistently shift gears then you are better off with hydraulic clutch.

I have both on more then one bike but on my wr250f I switch out cab to hyd from summer and winter riding.. If I could only have one Cable would win

By bandit 1200 has a hydraulic clutch but I think is because the clutch is heavy

my 84 honda has a hydraulic clutch, and i tought this was normal, until i saw the other bikes use the cable XD

excellent video my friend❤️🤘

I got a 2015 aprilia shiver with hydraulic clutch and on 2022 z900 with Cable clutch and its way easier to pull the clutch on the Z.

Hydraulic = heavier. Not by much but it does add up over the whole bike.

Eagerly waiting for hydraulic clutch for four wheeler also, now we are suffering from knee pain in normal clutch, so please do invention hydraulic clutch for four wheeler also, thanks.

My 1998 Suzuki GSF1200 has an hydraulik clutch...nothing really new, thought it's common since over 20 years

My Honda sc57 has ha hydraulic clutch 😄 thats from 2004 also it has an electronic stearing damper LOL all from Factory

With quickshifters the hydraulic clutch is the dumbest idea in a motorcycle

I've got a very specific situation. I've got a 2016 Hyosung GT650 Naked, and the spares for it are harder to source. As i feel my clutch cable is starting to sag, would it be better to convert into a hydraulic system as it becomes independent of Hyosung-only clutch cable? Or wait until I source a new cable for it? As in, for all older/discontinued bikes with rare spare availability, is it better to move to a hydraulic clutch system? TIA.

Cable would be better to start with because it needs more mastery and feel than hydraulic.

Just gonna add this: my YZ250 has a hydraulic clutch added aftermarket, and it’s simply a lever that pushes fluid into a piston that pulls a cable…. It’s pretty smooth and easy to pull. But my WR250R with a lubed clutch cable has a lighter pull and better feel.

Have you seen that talaria stings and such electric bikes have come to South Africa? I see bigboy is bringing in the Apollo rfz 72v and talaria stings are sold by a few different people in the country if you have the chance could you do a review?

I have both right now and to be honest I have no preference 🤷‍♂️

I’ll stick with cable…I can at least replace it when it goes “twang” and quite cheaply.

I converted my bike to hydraulic clutch and I never want to go back to cable.

From what I gathered is, that some larger capacity bikes(and therefore more torque) stiffer clutch springs are needed or in general a more beefy clutch This could be very fatiguing when you have hard clutch springs and a lot of cable drag. This at least removes some of the burden. Hydraulic radial clutches also offer a more direct feeling IMO. Same with radial brake levers

Lots of quick shift bikes gone cable.bliie bmw, KTM, husky

Manual adjustment should be on pros. I think

motoGP use cable or hydroulic clutch ?

What does Fabio use? I want the same😎

my hydraulic cluch is quite heavy on my 07 bandit compared to the cable clutch I tried on the cbr 500

Huh, I thought hydraulic clutches were a lot more common 🤷🏻‍♂️ every bike I have or used to have always had one. Even my 1996 zx7r in the garage has one and that’s almost 30years old now. Well now that I think about it think one of my old dirt bikes had a cable 🤔.

Bro can u make a video tools u use like socket sets and why u use then please

Ill stick with the cable clutch

my suzuki vs 800 have a hydraulic clutch. its from 1992 :D

Got an 08 Bandit 650 which has a hydraulic clutch. It's a nightmare. Having issues with my gear shifter sticking between 2nd and 3rd, and the only thing I can do (aside from ripping apart the engine or shift mechanism) is bleed the line

its sort of the same cable throttle i like calble throttle better gives me more controle

Cbr1000rr 2005-2007 hydraulic clutch wasn’t light and easy 😢😅